Biological Engineering/Science PhD or MS students wanted

Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Arkansas is recruiting a PhD and/or MS student to join the Landscape Flux Group.

Date posted

Oct. 30, 2017 12:00 am

Application deadline

Dec. 30, 2017 12:00 am

Organization

Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Arkansas

Location

United States

Job description

Biological Engineering/Science PhD or MS students wanted

I am recruiting a PhD and/or MS student to join the Landscape Flux Group within the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The research projects will be based in rice agricultural systems in Arkansas, where we are working with farmers to modify irrigation practices to reduce methane production while saving water. The projects use flux budgeting methods to understand the landscape’s ecological and hydrological functioning, with a particular focus on evapotranspiration. Resources are available for travel, equipment and international collaboration. The projects are in collaboration with research scientists from the USDA-ARS office in Jonesboro, AR.

These positions can start immediately, in January 2018, or in summer or fall of 2018. Students should have a background in one or more of the following disciplines: environmental or biological engineering, wetland ecology, biogeochemistry, biometeorology, watershed or surface-water hydrology, agricultural sciences or engineering. Some ability to code in Matlab or a related language is beneficial, as is experience in gas flux measurements using either chamber-based or eddy covariance methods. These positions will require (eventually) a valid US driver’s license.

My research group develops budgets of water, energy, and carbon in different wetland ecosystems. This research uses micrometeorological techniques to evaluate land-atmosphere fluxes of water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and heat. For example, the eddy covariance technique is used to determine the turbulent flux within atmospheric boundary layers, whereas hydrological methods are used to estimate the horizontal fluxes of dissolved carbon in surface and subsurface waterways. Together these methods quantify major environmental fluxes that serve as inputs for process-based predictive modeling and landscape management. More information on my group is available on my website (http://sites.uark.edu/brrunkle/).

The University of Arkansas is in the middle of a significant period of growth in both its student numbers and in raising its profile in research and innovation. There are significant opportunities here for collaborations on-campus in water, soil, nanotech, and other laboratories. Fayetteville, Arkansas is a beautiful and culturally vibrant college town amidst the Ozark Mountain Range, and it is regularly highly ranked on surveys of the Best Places to Live. There are plentiful outdoor recreational activities, good restaurants, and proximity to the world-class art collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Please email me, Dr. Benjamin Runkle (brrunkle@uark.edu), with a CV, GRE scores, TOEFL if relevant, unofficial transcript, the names of two references, a sample of your scientific writing, and a description of your research interests. I am committed to EO/AA principles and a diverse workplace.